Rebirth
by Miserum
Summary: When Master Roshi goes to the Forest of Terror to collect a bunch of the life extending Paradise Herb, he accidentally opens a gateway between the afterlife and the Earth. Now the Earth’s evils are slowly pouring onto the world, will they go back to their evil ways or...actually I’m not sure there’s an alternative.


**A/N: This is a reboot of a 1 chapter start up I did. Sorry if bits of TFS pop in at moments, especially dialogue. I can't help but have their jokes and world building rub off on me, especially when it's super high quality.**

**.**

A barren wasteland, a tall green android, a golden haired demi-Saiyan, and a destructive blue beam struggle in between them both. The advantage constantly shifted between both parties, who would be the victor would remain unpredictable. A flash of yellow later, and Cell was gone. The boy collapsed, and with a few short quick breathes, his anxiety and responsibilities had faded from responbilites as he drifted into unconsciousness.

.

_3 years later..._

.

_In HFIL, otherwise known as Hell._

_Another_ barren wasteland, this time with purpose. It serves as the eternal residence for those deemed evil by King Yemma and sent to the depths. Torturous demons, blazing hot fire, and an overlord who rules it all and takes pleasure in their pain, for all of eternity.

Or at least, that's the idea of Hell people hear about in their religious teachings or elsewhere.

In actuality, Hell was more akin to a plain old town, just replace the regular old citizens with the most dangerous and malicious people all across the universe. It had its own community of evil underlings and prideful ex-rulers, along with a set of laws that would be enforced like any good civilization. It even had a roller coaster and a fountain, though it was filled with blood instead of water.

But for the perfect being? It was utterly boring. A bountiful haven of weaklings was what it was. He sat on a rock, carved into chair. He looked miserable. His knees up to its face, his elbows resting on his knees, and his right hand cushioning his sideways tilted head while the other hand sat casually by his side.

Cell stared directly across from him, at the various residents who had accompanied him these last 5 years. The Ginyu Force, who had formed stronger bonds since landing in hell, were now playing a game of volleyball, laughing and smiling as they played.

Frieza, their now 'ex' ruler usually roamed about the place bothering whoever he could. Usually Cell or the Saiyans. After dying, he couldn't handle no longer being in control of his men, as being already dead meant you couldn't threaten them with death and thus he lost all control over them. Now he moped around, making snide remarks at them and other denizens of hell, making what attempts he could to tear them down and feel in control again. Cell wasn't sure what he was doing right this moment though.

Raditz, Nappa, Bardock, and Gine were in huddled around a table, along with other various Saiyans and were having an arm wrestling tournament. Bardock was on a winning streak, while Gine cheered for him. Due to the natural pride and fighting instinct of the Saiyans, these friendly games quickly descended into arguments, and then full blown fights.

And then there was Cell. Doing nothing but sitting around for weeks at a time. At first he simply ruled over the other denizens and established himself as the perfect being. Then that got boring. And he wasn't looking forward to establishing friendships with anyone.

Frieza stood a meter behind Cell, charging a weaker variant of the Death Beam. It wasn't for killing since they were all already dead but, more for annoyance than anything.

_Tink!_ It reflected right off of Cell's wings. Frieza's eyes widened for a moment, but then frowned slightly. Cell noticed the tickling sensation on his back, and promptly turned his head to see Frieza standing there with his finger pointed at him. Upon seeing him, it scowled.

"For Kami's sake Frieza would you leave me alone?"

"Sure. When you die that is." He replied sarcastically.

Cell stood up and turned around fully, one leg still perched up on the rock.

"Have you nothing better to do? I mean at first you were annoying and a bit fun to knock around but now you're just tedious to deal with.

Frieza crossed his arms. "Hmph. I disagree with that. I would say I'm more... tormenting?" He smirked. "Eh?"

Cell stared at him.

Frieza raised an eyebrow. "What are you doing just staring at me? Here maybe this'll get a reaction out of you."

Frieza used his telekinesis to pick up some rocks and boulders and chuck them at Cell. He remained unmoving as the rocks fell apart upon impact on his face.

"Frieza, What are you doing with your life? Or afterlife. Whatever. You know you can't beat me. You are literally apart of me, I know that best."

Frieza continued to throw rocks at him. "Hmm well, who knows. Maybe one day all the damage'll build up and I'll finally shatter you." He smiled further.

"I can just regenerate any mindsclue damage you do in an instant. It's not like it matters though, I'm already dead."

Right as he said that, he felt like a lightning struck through his cold dead heart. Cell gasped and felt a surge of ki burst through him. He couldn't control it. Normally being dead meant your power was pretty much gone but, at the moment he felt more power than ever.

Frieza too seemed to feel it, as the former tyrant's jaw dropped and was wide eyed. "It feels...like my entire _being_, is filled with overwhelming energy!" Frieza's muscles seemed to grow larger and his bright white skin seemed to glow with ki as a purple aura exploded across the landscape.

"Raaagh!" Cell yelled as his stance spread outwards. His wings opened up as his muscles tensed, his yellow ki aura also shining brightly. He lowered his stance, clenching his fists and looking down at them. "I haven't felt this kind of _power, _since I fought the boy back then." Cell reminisced about his former glory during the Cell Games.

A couple of minutes later, Cell felt other ki auras spike. He looked up from his muscles, and turned around to see the likes of the Ginyu Force and Nappa also getting the strange power boost. However, the other Saiyans were not affected, which pissed a couple of them off. "So it appears this power surge we are feeling is not exclusive to us, Frieza." He smirked. "Maybe now you'll be a match for me."

Frieza scowled. "I'll have you know I was _more_ than able to crush you at any time if I chose."

"Oh? And of course you never expressed that power of yours. Doesn't seem very 'mighty emporer'y to me."

Frieza would have snapped back at him, but before he had time to get another insult in, they both felt as if they were pulled somewhere. Cell scrunched his eyes closed. They felt their weight collapse in on them, then they suddenly felt light again.

Wherever he was, it had given him a small amount of info about his current situation. A dark forest on a remote island. A special place between the world and the afterlife. Illusions that feed on fear and emotion. Once he opened his eyes, he was vividly aware of his surroundings. He floated slightly above the forest, seemingly in limbo. He looked down, and saw a familiar old man with a brown cane and turtle shell on his back, along with a glowing herb in front of him. He quickly recognised the man as The Turtle Hermit.

'Wait a minute,' Cell realized. 'A special place between this place and the afterlife?' Cell thought for a moment. 'This isn't likely to work, but I won't stand here wait idly by !' After screaming those thoughts in his head, Cell charged straight towards the island, only to be bounced back by an invisible barrier. He seemed to have been zapped by a force of electricity as well, his entire body stung. 'Damn it,' he gritted his teeth. 'I have to keep trying!'

Down below on the island, Roshi fought off the illusions, while trying to keep his ki under control. He was familiar with the island that held the Paradise Herb responsible for his life-spam extending to a couple hundred years. 'Huh, guess I'm rustier than I thought.'

Cell's muscles bulged as he transformed into a grade 3 super Saiyan. His biceps quaked with energy as he again charged toward the barrier. Using Frieza's Nova Strike attack he surrounded himself in a yellow ball of ki, with sparks of lighting coursing through it. "Haaaah!" Cell yelled as he charged at barrier. Cell felt his body push even deeper into the barrier. It stretched and pulled, but Cell's force still wasn't great enough.

In a spark of genius, Cell looked behind and poured the last reserves of his energy into a Reverse Kamehameha.

"Kaa-Mee-Haa-Meee-HAA!"

The blue ball of ki forced Cell through the barrier with so much power, that Cell was sent flying out of it and into the Earth.

Roshi looked up as he felt a depleting ki signature and saw a blue streak flying across the sky. 'That person's energy is depleting fast, but it feels a bit malicious.' He sweat dropped. 'Should I call Goku?' The old man stroked his beard. 'Maybe it's nothing, I'll have to check it out later.' Finishing that thought he began plucking the dozen or so Paradise Herbs from the ground, the supernatural plant taking an above average amount of strength to farm. 'This batch should grant me about 1,000 years longer.'

Cell crashed into a clearing in a forest, sending rubble flying and various wildlife scurrying to safety. His muscles grew smaller and went back to their normal shape as he

powered down to his base form. Lying on his back, Cell panted for air, trying to catch his breath. He looked above his head to see his Halo gone. 'I did it,' was the last thought he had before he faded into unconsciousness from his intense energy spending.

.

"Yeah, there's no mistaking it now." Gohan had a serious look on his face as he stood up from his study table. His chair flew back as his anger increased. 'Damn it! I failed to properly kill Cell, I need to destroy him again before he wreaks havoc on this world.' He yelled at himself in his mind. He quickly donned a purple gi like the one he'd worn during the Cell Games. Gohan snuck out his window before taking off to the skies, toward Cell's resting ki. 'Sorry for sneaking out like this Mom, but I need to do this.' After flying for about 30 seconds, he sensed Piccolos energy coming towards him, before the Namekian joined him in flight. "So I take it you felt _him _too, Gohan?" Gohan looked at him, but Piccolo didn't make eye contact. "Yeah, I did." Gohan's scowl increased further as the events of the Cell Games replayed in his head. 

_"I'm proud of you Gohan." A blissful smile crossed the Saiyan warrior's face. Gohan was on his knees, cursing himself for not finishing Cell earlier. He looked ahead at his father, tears in his eyes as his mouth was agape. "Goodbye, my son." Goku almost whispered to his half-breed son, before using Instant Transmission to take him and the inflated Cell away from the Earth. A strong wind forced Gohan to cover his face before disappearing, much like his father. "Nooo!" His tears flew off his face as he screamed into the empty air._

Gohan shuddered as his traumatic episode finished. He wiped his tears before they had a chance to come out, hoping Piccolo wouldn't notice. Of course the observant Namekian noticed. "Gohan!" Piccolo yelled a little too loudly at the boy.

Gohan snapped to attention, not wanting to fault the man who was like a second father to him. "We should try to get to him as soon as possible, before he absorbs any civilians. Your Super Saiyan 2 should do the trick." 

"But didn't Cell get stronger than me, even when I was a Super Saiyan 2?" The boy turned his head innocently as he questioned his green friend.

"I can see how you think that, but remember. The last time he fought you, you were down an arm and used up alot of your energy. You completely overwhelmed him when you first transformed, though you should expect a slight power increase."

"O-oh, Right," the half-saiyan teenager nodded. "And don't forget the training I've had, I should be able to beat him without a problem." A vengeful smile crossed his face. 'This time Dad, I'll beat him with my own power!'

"One more thing," Piccolo said. "I know you haven't fully controlled your new transformation. When you transform, your Saiyan blood seems to take over, you get cocky and arrogant. Remember your training, and never underestimate your opponent.

"I...I understand Piccolo." He continued in his thoughts. 'This time, I won't let the Earth down.'

Gohan stopped himself in the air, concentrating his ki. Piccolo had trained him to control the ascended Super Saiyan transformation, it still took some getting used to but he had a good handle on it now. With a shout, a golden aura flames around him and his hair turned a pale blonde. His eyes turned greenish emerald and his face became more stern looking. Piccolo had flown past him while he was transforming, but in almost a second he had blown past him

**.**

Cell awoke about 10 minutes later, his back sat up against a nearly felled tree from the impact of his not-so-graceful re-entrance into the living world. A couple of birds and other animals had mistaken his sleeping body for a small tree. He felt a nest sitting on the round ball in between his winged head. In an instant, he forced out some ki, sending the mama bird crashing into a tree killing her. The eggs inside nest were also sent flying, shattering upon impact with the ground. Cell stood up, scanning his surroundings before flying high above the forest, and above the near by mountains. Immediately, his senses were assaulted with the familiar, although overwhelming power of an ascended Super Saiyan, along with the lower power level of Piccolo. 'Damn, they've caught on to me. I'm worried about Gohan mostly, but those other weaklings don't bother me as much.'

Stretching his senses as far as he could, Cell sensed a higher than average ki, besides the incoming Z-Fighters. Flying down towards it, he soon realized who it belonged to. The almost useless fighter, Master Roshi. Cell chuckled to himself. 'Compared to the weakling humans I absorbed in the cities, this fighter has a lot of merit. A welcome addition to my biomass.'

The old fighter had just finished picking all of the Paradise Herb, packing them into a metal box and loading them onto a boat. Cell landed on a rocky pillar above the forest entrance where Roshi was stationed. Cell had plenty of time to take aim with a death beam, aimed for his spine. The thin yellow beam flew faster than Roshi could react, entering through his stomach, and exiting out his back. Roshi collapsed to the ground with a hoarse scream. "Gaaaah!" Blood began to pour out from the wound staining the sand a dark red. The tall bio-android floated down next to the paralyzed Turtle Hermit. He stuck out his tail and aimed it above his chest. 

"You...you won't get away with this Cell..." Roshi almost whispered, "That Gohan boy'll destroy you, just like he did before." He coughed up a wad of blood. 

"Oh, but I will. I really must thank you Turtle Hermit, you saved me about 10 minutes of absorbing one of those small towns."

Cell jabbed his needle-like tail into Roshi's chest cavity, who slowly whithered away until the only trace of him was his loose clothing and turtle shell.

"Ah," the bio-android said satisfactorily. "They just definitely felt me snuff the life out of the old man. They'll increase their efforts doubly now" he finished with a smirk.

.

Piccolo and Gohan were about 2 minutes away when they felt Roshi's ki start steadily depleting, then vanish without a trace. ((Gohan, you felt that too right?)) Piccolo communicated telepathically. ((Yeah, I think it's too late. I need to stop him before he absorbs anyone else!)) Gohan replied with a fierce determination in his voice. He boosted himself even further, determined to defeat his worst enemy.

When they'd finally arrived, it seemed they were too late again. Piccolo spotted Roshi's clothing and turtle shell on the beach of a dark island, while Gohan felt the life force of many Humans in a small town slowly disappear, while Cell's energy slowly increased. 

"Curses," Piccolo mumbled to himself. "Gohan, be careful. He's absorbed the likes of Roshi and most of the Humans in that town. He's about equal to you in powers."

Neither warrior looked up to see each other. 

"I know Piccolo. Tell the others to collect the Dragon Balls in the mean time. We need to revive Roshi and all the innocents in that town."

"Alright, good" Piccolo shot up to the sky. "This is what you trained for. Now you don't have to lose, go!" he commanded. Piccolo flew off to meet the others.

"Right." He flew the remaining distance to the nearly vacant town.

.

This day just couldn't get any better. All in one day, he had come back from the afterlife, absorbed the Turtle Hermit and most of a human town, and was about to fight against his greatest enemy after 3 years. And he'd probably win. He had a malicious looking smirk on his face as he captured and absorbed the human prey, the remaining of which were attempting to hide. If they had basic knowledge of ki control, it might've actually been difficult. He spotted a child hiding behind a dumpster, in an instant he'd grabbed the child by the collar and stuck his tail to their chest. "Don't worry," he chuckled. "Your death'll go to a good cause." Right before he stabbed them with his tail, a ki blast sent him flying backwards.

Cell looked up to see a solemn faced Gohan, with his hand stuck out charging another ki blast. Gohan looked down at the child, who'd fallen to their knees. "Go, get out of here now!" He'd commanded them, reminiscent of Piccolo's behavior during training or otherwise. The child stared up at him, frozen in fear for a moment, before heeding Gohan's words and running away.

Gohan began to bombard Cell with ki blasts, filling the street with smoke. Not expecting the blasts to do much damage, Gohan dove in as soon as the smoke began to clear, keeping an eye on Cell's ki. He sensed an attack coming, so he dodged just in time to see Cell's leg outstretched. Gohan pulled his arm back for a counter only for Cell to disappear and reform behind him. Cell landed a ki blast to Gohan's back, causing him to flinch. Gohan snapped around with a roundhouse kick, forcing Cell to block. He continued with a flurry of kicks causing him to be suspended in mid-air , cracking Cell's defense until he landed a kick to the side of Cell's neck, leaving Cell winded. Cell growled and attempted a high kick at the mid-air Gohan, but he dodged to the side and retaliated with a spinning back fist to Cell's cheek.

Cell was left winded allowing Gohan to go for kick to his chin and a punch to his chest, knocking him off his feet sending him flipping backwards. Cell landed on his feet and slid across the concrete, before flying towards Gohan again.

Gohan steeled himself for another attack, only to see Cell quickly use Instant Transmission and teleport behind Gohan. Behind Gohan's back, Cell flipped forward and slammed his heel into the top of Gohan's head. With a cry of pain, Gohan was sent barreling into the streets below, crashing onto an abandoned car, flattening it with his impact.

Gohan quickly rose from the roof of the crushed car, a painful red bruise beginning to form on his head. He dashed backwards away from Cell, who'd been levitating slightly up in the air with his arms crossed and a cocky smirk on his face. "Another hit like that, and you'll pull a Goku and end up brain dead." He laughed at his grim attempt at humour.

Gohan growled with a venomous look in his eyes. "Don't say my father's name ever again or I'll kill you!" The usually calm boy snapped at the mention of his warrior father's name.

Cell tilted his head to the side and widened his eyes in a sarcastic manner. "What are you talking about? I haven't uttered the word 'Piccolo' at all during this conversation of ours."

Gohan may as well have turned red and had steam blowing out of his ears. In a rage, he dashed towards Cell and threw a flurry of punches and kicks at the mutant grasshopper looking man, his short stature forcing him to levitate upwards. Cell, expecting the young half-Saiyan's temper to explode, dodged and blocked all of the strikes coming towards him. Cell threw a perfectly-aimed punch at Gohan's liver, causing him to double over and nearly collapse on top of Cell, who threw him through a building.

The boy's explosive temper had worked in his favour in the past, but now it gave his enemy the advantage. Gohan lie panting on the carved out sidewalk, and sensing that Cell was on his way over. He winced as he stood up through the pain. 'I need to remember what Piccolo taught me. I better think of something.' Gohan looked up at the blazing yellow sun, and an idea flashed in his mind.

As Cell flew over the tall, skinny building he threw Gohan through, he noticed him flying up above him. "What are you? Gobi Han? We can both fly, being above me won't give you any advantages." He stared blankly for a moment. "Unless you're trying to get above me _metaphorically. _Does it feel good? Being at the top. Cause personally I think that's a little ego-" 

"_SOLAR FLARE!"_

Instinctively, Cell closed his eyes and put his hands over his face as he was blinded by the simple yet effective technique. He thrashed around empty air, grunting as he did so. He couldn't even sense ki around him anymore, it seemed he was hit by an updated version of the technique.

Gohan had a limited amount of time to act before Cell regained his senses. He placed his hands in front of his body, a blue ball of energy forming in his hands. After moving them to behind him, he was set in a familiar stance. 

"Ka...me...ha.meee," the young fighter almost whispered to himself as a massive ball of energy formed behind him.

"HA!" He fired, and the old but powerful technique was now barreling towards Cell as he just barely regained his senses.


End file.
